Page 8 of The Billionaire Love Match

“I’m torn between two women,” Colt said. He held out the paper he’d been studying through the candle ceremony. Supposedly it had the highest scores from the compatibility tests the computer had done. The new, cynical part of her wondered if it was really just a grocery list. Or a flyer for something.

“Tell us more,” Chris Haversham said.

“Well, one woman seems just perfect on paper. But another one...well. When I got here tonight there was someone who stuck out to me. Someone I’d love to spend more time with to see if the connection I sense is real.”

Casey’s pulse was racing. She couldn’t take much more of this. Her whole body felt like it was going to simply stop functioning between the hunger pains, shaky legs, and then the emotional aspect to it all. Why did it feel like he was sending secret messages to just her? Looking at just her? That final candle had to go to her. But what if it didn’t?

And what if it did? Casey eyed the group of girls who held their candles already. They all looked like supermodels, perfect and slinky in their dresses, all of which looked way more formal than her own. They probably didn’t need their roommate to put on their eyeliner for them.

Casey knew suddenly, even as Colt met her eyes, that she didn’t stack up to these women. She couldn’t hold a candle to them. She would have laughed about that one with Amanda, but for now, just felt deflated, sick, and sad.

“Well, let’s bring them out here,” Chris Haversham said. “Tell us the final two women you’re trying to decide between.”

Colt licked his lips and looked over the women left in Casey’s group. Her brain alternated between wanting to hear her name and not wanting to hear her name. She couldn’t look at Colt. If he gave her any more special looks, she didn’t think she could take it.

“Lisa,” Colt said, pausing—

no no no no no no no no

“and...”

no no no no no no no no

“Casey.”

Her head snapped up and Casey heard a whistle that she knew with certainty was Amanda in the audience doing her signature fingers in the mouth, blow your eardrums out whistle. She would have smiled, but had gotten lost in Colt’s eyes. He was looking anything but Mr. Casual right now. His eyes were locked on hers and had an intensity to them, like he was trying to send her a signal of some kind.

“Casey?” Chris Haversham’s voice broke her out of her moment with Colt.

“What?”

The audience laughed out loud and a smile played on Colt’s lips. Casey saw some of the girls shaking their heads and whispering. Her friend in the purple winked at her.

“Do you want to come stand over here?” Chris said.

Casey realized that Lisa, the other finalist Colt had chosen, had crossed the stage and was standing near the table with the candles.

“Um, sure.”

Again, more laughter from the audience. Even Chris Haversham cracked a smile.

Casey walked across the stage, seeing only Colt’s face, his amazing hazel eyes looking only at hers. They seemed to be getting darker and bigger and now they were spinning and she was falling into them. No—she was falling to the floor.

Oh no I’m passing out,Casey realized as everything went dark.

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